Rice Porridge - Thai Recipes

Soft rice soup is very common in Thailand, it's made by boiling rice overnight until it becomes soft, more like a fine pureé than a rice dish. There are many easier ways to make this dish though. In Thailand we have instant Jog in packets, you can also buy Rice Semolina in supermarkets in the west, this can be used to make Jog and another way is to make rice soup and liquidize it with a hand blender.

Jog is a classic from the archive. Another variation of soft rice soup, this one is traditionally served with a very very soft boiled egg cracked onto the top, and fried shrimp. When you eat the soup, you break the yolk into the soft soup, and stir it in.

This is Jok, a rice soup, made with mushrooms. It's normally cooked for a very long time so that the rice becomes mushy. However to make it easier, I've cooked it normally, and run it through a blender to break the rice grains. Fried garlic is perfect for this recipe.

Rice porridge is one of the great ways of using up left-overs from the previous day. Left over rice can be kept in the fridge, but it gets a little dry. Adding water and blending it into a porridge, makes it usable again. Sliced meats, or fish might need a little pepping up. Adding chopped coriander, lemon grass, and chillies and you can turn it into a 'yum', a spicy salad dish.
The two together make a completely meal from the previous days leftovers, it's such a staple of Thailand, I've made a video below.
As ever, I'd recommend you only use 100% Thai Fragrant Rice, there are blends that are cheaper, with less less Thai Fragrant and more generic white rice, but you don't save that much and the flavour and textures aren't nearly as good.
The traditional way to make rice porridge is to slow cook rice overnight till it breaks down. Thankfully a modern blender makes short work of rice porridge!